Oxytocin News and Research

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Oxytocin is a small but potent nine-amino acid hormone secreted within the brain, from the hypothalamus.

Researchers try to simplify gene nomenclature across various organisms

Constantina Theofanopoulou wanted to study oxytocin. Her graduate work had focused on how the hormone influences human speech development, and now she was preparing to use those findings to investigate how songbirds learn to sing. The problem was that birds do not have oxytocin. Or so she was told.

29 Apr 2021

Researchers propose a new universal nomenclature for vasotocin and oxytocin genes

Oxytocin and arginine vasopressin are two hormones in the endocrine system that can act as neurotransmitters and regulate -in vertebrates and invertebrates- a wide range of biological functions, such as bonding formation, breastfeeding, birth or arterial pressure.

29 Apr 2021

Discontinuation of oxytocin stimulation may lead to a small increase in cesarean section

A study published by The BMJ today sheds more light on the use of oxytocin (a hormone that stimulates contractions) during induced labor.

15 Apr 2021

Researchers awarded $2.7 million grant to investigate sex differences in social reward

Georgia State University researchers have been awarded a five-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate how oxytocin and dopamine act in the reward circuits of the brain to make social interactions rewarding for males and females.

15 Apr 2021

Early exposure to smell can affect perception and social behavior later in life

Imprinting is a popularly known phenomenon, wherein certain animals and birds become fixated on sights and smells they see immediately after being born.

13 Apr 2021

Previously approved drugs starting points for COVID-19 therapeutics

Researchers in the United States have identified several clinically approved compounds that could be repurposed for the treatment and prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

11 Apr 2021

Unbalanced progesterone may cause preterm or prolonged labor in some pregnant women

New research by the National Institutes of Health found that unbalanced progesterone signals may cause some pregnant women to experience preterm labor or prolonged labor.

11 Mar 2021

Study: All monogamous mammals are not 'wired for love' in the same way

Humans aren't the only mammals that form long-term bonds with a single, special mate -- some bats, wolves, beavers, foxes and other animals do, too. But new research suggests the brain circuitry that makes love last in some species may not be the same in others.

13 Feb 2021

New strategy to optimize the efficacy of neuropeptides for therapeutic applications

Dimerization (Note: combination of two identical or different molecules) of the human neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin can produce new types of bioactive molecules.

10 Feb 2021

Study elucidates the link between oxytocin gene methylation and parental empathy

Parenting behavior is deeply linked to the ability to empathize with one’s children. Thus, to better understand why certain parents react to certain situations in a certain way, it is crucial to gain insight into how empathy is shaped.

8 Dec 2020

Researchers explore potential role of oxytocin in modulating male sexual function

Hormones are key players of the endocrine system and have a major influence on our emotional and sexual wellbeing.

18 Nov 2020

Researchers explore how different birth experience affect the developing nervous system

It is an experience we all share, as miraculous as it is mysterious. Birth. Today, roughly one in three births in the United States occurs via cesarean section or C-section.

5 Nov 2020

Cesarean delivery’s effects on birth hormones may lead to neurodevelopmental consequences

Cesarean section delivery and vaginal delivery lead to different hormonal exposures that may affect a newborn's development, according to an article published in the Journal of Neuroendocrinology.

4 Nov 2020

Researchers identify distinct link between autism and brain cell abnormalities

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report that new experiments with genetically engineered mice have found clear connections among a range of autism types and abnormalities in brain cells whose chemical output forges platonic (non-sexual) feelings of love and sociability.

30 Oct 2020

Penn State researcher leads $3.8 million project to create an atlas of developing mice brains

A grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow a Penn State College of Medicine researcher to lead a three-year, multi-institution project to create an atlas of developing mice brains.

13 Oct 2020

Researcher receives NIH award to explore effect of women's hormones on postpartum opioid relapse

When most people think of opioid addiction, they typically do not think of pregnant women. Unfortunately, however, the prevalence of opioid addiction during pregnancy has increased nearly 500% during the past 15 years.

8 Oct 2020

Oxytocinergic and vasopressinergic substances in the brain are involved in guiding social behavior

Research conducted by the University of Valencia (UV) and the Jaume I University of Castellón (UJI), among other institutions, has found alterations to the structure of the brain's nonapeptidergic systems, social behavior and the production of pheromones, traits that reveal sexual dimorphism, in male mice with a lack of the Mecp2 gene.

4 Sep 2020

Oxytocin can aid in the control and prevention of osteoporosis

Oxytocin, produced by the hypothalamus and sometimes known as the "love hormone" for its involvement in pair bonding and orgasm, can be a strong ally in the control and prevention of osteoporosis, according to a study by scientists at São Paulo State University in Brazil.

10 Aug 2020

Researchers provide insights into maternity care practices and costs in Ireland

Researchers from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin have provided an international perspective on differences in key birth interventions as part of a European research network on understanding and contextualising physiological labour and birth (EU COST Action IS1405), which provides insights into maternity care practices and costs in Ireland.

7 Aug 2020

Antibiotic treatment in early life impedes development of 'social brain' in mice

Antibiotic treatment in early life impedes brain signalling pathways that function in social behaviour and pain regulation in mice, a new study by Dr Katerina Johnson and Dr Philip Burnet has found. It was published today in BMC Neuroscience.

22 Jul 2020